Dave Cortright 🔸

• Dave Cortright 🔸Jun 16, 2024, 7:14 PM

  18 points

  4 ∶ 0

  on: Mr Beast is now offi­cially en­gaged in effec­tive giv­ing!

  I’ve updated the title, but to those of you who had a problem with me asserting that engaging publicly with Give Directly qualifies someone as an EA, what criteria do you think is required for someone/​something to be in EA? There’s no standards certification body, so in my estimation it comes down to “the eye of the beholder”. But curious what others think.

  For example, I heavily support Vegan Outreach because their goal is to get people to go vegan as efficiently as possible. Yet they aren’t on any EA animal welfare lists, they’re not interested in going to the conferences or getting more involved in the community. They want to focus on vegan conversations. And I respect that.

  Giving What We Can also said as much in their latest blog post on the pledge, noting that pledgers get to decide what they consider is effective. https://​​www.givingwhatwecan.org/​​en/​​blog/​​5-things-you-ve-got-wrong-about-the-giving-what-we-can-pledge

• Dave Cortright 🔸Jun 16, 2024, 6:12 PM

  34 points

  11 ∶ 0

  in reply to: Joseph’s comment on: Mr Beast is now offi­cially en­gaged in effec­tive giv­ing!

  First and foremost Jimmy wants to create a compelling story that gets people to watch. Maybe it all could be done a bit less dramatically, but overall I think he does a good job of representing people as just needing some resources and opportunities to build a better life for themselves.

  At the end of the day, is the world better off for having this video in it and all the good done in its production? Yes, I think it’s a net positive.

• Dave Cortright 🔸Jun 16, 2024, 6:07 PM

  32 points

  8 ∶ 0

  in reply to: JackM’s comment on: Mr Beast is now offi­cially en­gaged in effec­tive giv­ing!

  I spoke with Jimmy 2 years ago and talked with him about EA, which he had already heard of through a friend. He’s definitely aware of it. Whether or not he considers himself an EA is another story, but he is engaging with an effective philanthropy, and doing a lot of good in the world not only through his direct work but also driving awareness via his massive platform. That looks effective from my perspective.

• Dave Cortright 🔸Jun 16, 2024, 3:31 PM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: In­tro­duc­ing the Profit for Good Blog: Trans­form­ing Busi­ness for Charity

  What do you think about orgs that donate a portion of their profits, like Ivory Ella or Endangered Species Chocolate?

Vlog Brothers (Hank and John Green) are pro­mot­ing re­duced beef consumption

Mr Beast is now offi­cially en­gaged in effec­tive giv­ing!

• Dave Cortright 🔸Jun 10, 2024, 5:56 AM

  7 points

  1 ∶ 0

  on: In­tro­duc­ing the Profit for Good Blog: Trans­form­ing Busi­ness for Charity

  I’m a fan of this concept. Would love to see your analysis of https://​​good.store by the vlog brothers

• Dave Cortright 🔸May 30, 2024, 5:53 PM

  13 points

  2 ∶ 0

  on: A Scar Worth Bear­ing: My Im­prob­a­ble Story of Kid­ney Donation

  Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth! I donated bone marrow, and enthusiastically recommend others consider signing up for medical donation programs like the ones listed above.

• Dave Cortright 🔸May 30, 2024, 12:14 AM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: EA Men­tal Health pod­cast from the Flour­ish­ing Minds Fund

  Here’s another one worth a listen: Changing the Game: StrongMinds’ Mission to Improve Mental Health Globally on The Giving What We Can Podcast

  https://​​overcast.fm/​​+y62ecrUYI

EA Men­tal Health pod­cast from the Flour­ish­ing Minds Fund

• Dave Cortright 🔸May 22, 2024, 11:24 PM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Self-Care: Use Cut­ting Edge Psy­chother­a­peu­tic Meth­ods (CBT, IFS) with a Matched Buddy or Sup­port-Group Now.

  Minor grammatical correction: “deeper seated” is the more apt idiom, rather than “deeper suited” 🤓

• Dave Cortright 🔸May 5, 2024, 10:17 PM

  10 points

  3 ∶ 1

  on: DaveC’s Shortform

  Edgy and data-driven TED talk on how the older generations in America are undermining the youth. Worth a watch.
  

• Dave Cortright 🔸May 3, 2024, 5:50 PM

  5 points

  2 ∶ 0

  on: DaveC’s Shortform

  I haven’t gone through this all the way, but I’ve loved Nicky Case’s previous explainers.
  https://​​aisafety.dance/​​

• Dave Cortright 🔸Apr 23, 2024, 4:14 PM

  1 point

  0 ∶ 0

  on: My Ex­pe­rience Donat­ing Blood Stem Cells, or: Why You Should Join a Bone Mar­row Registry

  I also joined the registry and donated, and recommend others join the registry. The more people on the registry, the more lives we can save.
  
  I joined the registry in August 2012. I was asked to donate in April 2020 and donated in November 2020. Since I was already a registered organ donor (join that registry too if you haven’t!) it felt like the next logical step. Just a step up from giving blood.

  I was surprised to be called upon, given the low odds of a match (1/​430). At one point in the process, it felt onerous and I nearly pulled out. But after thinking about how I would feel if I needed a transplant to possibly save my life, I went ahead with it.

  The extraction was from my bloodstream (not needles in the pelvis, thankfully). But for this method, I had to receive injections of a drug that increased my bone marrow cell production. It gave me mild flu-like symptoms, which is normal.

  It kinda sucked doing this during the heart of the pandemic, before the vaccine was even available to medical workers. I had to wear an N95 all day, and my girlfriend was not allowed in the room with me; (usually, they allow a companion). I was also slightly worried about spending a whole day indoors with other people, which I wasn’t doing at the time. The fact that it was a medical facility that was dedicated solely to cancer and had no COVID patients helped ease my mind.

  It took about 6–7 hours in the clinic. I mostly read, watched videos, and snoozed between visits from the nurse. I required calcium supplements hourly since the centrifugal extraction process also pulls out calcium. My lips would get numb and tingly.

  I paid for nothing. All of the tests, screenings, meds, the procedure, and travel costs were paid (including mileage, hotel room, and meals).

  As a bonus, I got a comprehensive health screening at a time when I didn’t have great medical coverage.

  All in all, I’m glad I did it. I think everyone should register given the low up-front investment. Odds are you won’t be called. And if you are, you can always decide whether or not to do it at that time.
  
  [Cross-posted from here]

• Dave Cortright 🔸Apr 9, 2024, 9:27 PM

  6 points

  0 ∶ 0

  on: An overview of promis­ing men­tal health interventions

  Great report, Stan! I’ve subscribed to follow your posts. I appreciate you collating all the evidence and conclusions of the data in the mental health space.

  Regarding alcoholism, I’m a fan of Johann Hari’s conclusion that “the opposite of addiction is [positive human] connection.” Stanford research supports this with their meta-analysis of alcohol treatment programs, finding the peer-support system in 12-step programs to be most effective.

• Dave Cortright 🔸Apr 9, 2024, 8:14 PM

  6 points

  0 ∶ 0

  on: Men­tal Health Re­port (CEARCH) [Ex­ec­u­tive Sum­mary]

  I echo what John Salter said: this is great and it’s important to have more of reports like this to elevate the mental health cause area.

  Regarding health burden, what’s shown here is a significant underreporting. There is strong evidence that poor mental health leads to increased physical health problems. Some sources to consider are the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study by the American CDC ( ACEs Aware is a good resource, too), The Loneliness and Isolation report by the US Surgeon General, The Harvard Grant Study, and the Rosteo Study.

• Dave Cortright 🔸Mar 22, 2024, 5:43 PM

  −1 points

  0 ∶ 0

  in reply to: saulius’s comment on: DaveC’s Shortform

  One common argument against veganism is that humans are carnivores. We aren’t. We are designed to eat cooked food.

• Dave Cortright 🔸Mar 22, 2024, 12:43 AM

  −1 points

  0 ∶ 0

  on: DaveC’s Shortform

  Humans are cucinivores—the conjecture all vegans should know

  The crux: humans are a new and unique type of eater: cucinivores. We evolved to eat cooked food.

  More on this here:

  • Humans as cucinivores: comparisons with other species (2015)

  • The Whippet #152: Omnivores vs Cucinivores (2022) [this is a friendlier write-up of the first paper]

  • Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human (2009)

  More people should know about this conjecture, and for anyone looking for a vegan-related research project, I believe the world would benefit from more research in this area (which I suspect would support the conjecture).

• Dave Cortright 🔸Mar 22, 2024, 12:13 AM

  9 points

  3 ∶ 1

  on: On green

  For evidence-based personality tests, check out The Big Five (OCEAN) or its updated sibling, HEXACO.

More fre­quent so­cial ac­tivity cor­re­lated with longevity